LeBron makes $2.5M donation toward Muhammad Ali exhibit at Smithsonian

The memory of the Greatest of All Time will live on for generations to come thanks in part to the generosity of LeBron James.

James will pledge $2.5 million to support a Muhammad Ali exhibition at the Smithsonian National Museum of African-American History and Culture.

The exhibit will be called "Muhammad Ali: A Force for Change."

"Muhammad Ali is such a cornerstone of me as an athlete because of what he represented not only in the ring as a champion but more outside the ring — what he stood for, what he spoke for, his demeanor," James told Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today Sports.

"I think of him every day. Without his passion and goals and morals, I don’t know if I’d be sitting here today talking to you about it."

Ali died at the age of 74 this summer following a 32-year battle with Parkinson's disease.

James remembers Ali not just for his unrivaled importance within the boxing ring, but also for Ali's impact on the African-American community.

"The reason why he's the GOAT is not because of what he did in the ring, which was unbelievable," James said in June.

"It's what he did outside of the ring, what he believed in, what he stood for, along with Jim Brown and Oscar Robertson, Lew Alcindor - obviously, who became Kareem (Abdul-Jabbar) - Bill Russell, Jackie Robinson. Those guys stood for something. He's part of the reason why African-Americans today can do what we do in the sports world. We're free. They allow us to have access to anything we want. It's because of what they stood for, and Muhammad Ali was definitely the pioneer for that."